The David Roberts Art Foundation (DRAF) in London is an independent, non-profit foundation with a challenging programming of exhibitions, collaborative productions and live events. With some 1800 works, the collection doesn’t focus on a specific generation, medium or method, but rather seeks to comment on and engage with contemporary discourses.
To mark its recent move into a new, larger space in a former furniture factory in Mornington Crescent, DRAF launched the inaugural exhibition „A House of Leaves”, which references a work by American novelist Mark Z. Danielewski in which different storylines, told in different styles, intertwine. The story centres on a house that keeps changing and resists measurement because its interior gradually becomes larger than its exterior.
The show, which goes on for six months, is accompanied by performances and events, with the first one taking place during Frieze week, on Thursday October 11, and is not to be missed. Artists include Nina Beier, Chosil Kil, Alvin Lucier, Eddie Peake and Steve Reich. A highlight of the evening will be London-based 29 year old artist Eddie Peake’s performance, who will be presenting a new work made especially for DRAF: a performance inspired by Pop sensation Prince, involving dance, music and actors occupying the entire building. Peake works with bodies, movement and music, playfully exploring physical form in all its manifestations – Peake’s ‘bodies’ become both sculptural and sexual objects via choreographed actions, encouraging the audience to give in to voyeuristic desire. American composer Steve Reich’s 1972 piece “Clapping Music” will also be performed – a score that, as the name suggests, is conceived to be performed entirely by clapping. Performances are co-produced by Absolut Art Bureau.
David Roberts Art Foundation
Symes Mews, London NW1 7JE
A HOUSE OF LEAVES EVENTS / HAPPENINGS / PERFORMANCES Thursday 11 October from 7pm to 9pm